Today, on checking for updates for my existing extensions in Firefox 57.0.2, there was an update for UBlock Origin. After the update, there was also a new extension called Looking Glass which I hadn't installed. Is anyone else seeing this? What is it's purpose?

It only shows up after restarting Firefox.

The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them. - Albert Einstein

Gopher John wrote:Today, on checking for updates for my existing extensions in Firefox 57.0.2, there was an update for UBlock Origin. After the update, there was also a new extension called Looking Glass which I hadn't installed. Is anyone else seeing this? What is it's purpose?

Yep, it's a Mozilla spyware thing.

Apparently you brought it on yourself by not turning off their 'Allow Firefox to install and run studies' in Options/Preferences, which by their logic means they are free to study you and your habits - purely to improve user experience, of course.

If I were you, I'd turn that off.

There's also a bunch of telemetry and experiments entries in about:config which would ruin their day if you toggled them to 'False'.

Metal Lion latest SeaMonkey & Thunderbird Themes - Sea Monkey and Silver Sea Monkey"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke (attrib.)

Interesting, turning off'Allow Firefox to install and run studies' in Options/Preferences either uninstalls Looking Glass automatically or at least makes it invisible. On the 2 profiles that had it installed, when I went to uninstall, it was no longer there.

The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them. - Albert Einstein

Gopher John wrote:Interesting, turning off'Allow Firefox to install and run studies' in Options/Preferences either uninstalls Looking Glass automatically or at least makes it invisible. On the 2 profiles that had it installed, when I went to uninstall, it was no longer there.

Yep, I haven't tested this idea, but that's why I didn't bother suggesting uninstalling that extension. Just because I know how Mozilla think.

All the time they could argue, legally or otherwise, that you had given permission for that extension to mine data, then it would keep coming back. So, somewhere there had, however unobvious the connection, to be a permissions box and that 'Allow Firefox....' box was it.

Other people can probably give you the full, studied, detailed, overview of all this, but I only glanced at it for a minute, caught the general drift, sorted it and moved on.

Metal Lion latest SeaMonkey & Thunderbird Themes - Sea Monkey and Silver Sea Monkey"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke (attrib.)

In bug 1424977, developers are discussing if the add-on is a prank. Bug 1423003 introduced this, and it's not publicly viewable, a restriction usually reserved for reports describing security vulnerabilities. Not very trustworthy behavior from an open source company that prides itself on transparency and privacy advocacy.

To add more fuel to the backlash, the marketing department released this statement to Gizmodo:

Firefox worked with the Mr. Robot team to create a custom experience that would surprise and delight fans of the show and our users. It’s especially important to call out that this collaboration does not compromise our principles or values regarding privacy. The experience does not collect or share any data,” Jascha Kaykas-Wolff, chief marketing officer of Mozilla, said in a statement to Gizmodo. “The experience was kept under wraps to be introduced at the conclusion of the season of Mr. Robot. We gave Mr. Robot fans a unique mystery to solve to deepen their connection and engagement with the show and is only available in Firefox.